A farewell to arms
Returning home represented a bigger challenge than going to war in many respects. One had to decide what career route to opt for and how to tackle that particular problem. Very little help or guidance was available at the time and it was rather a case of potluck where one found oneself.
I think the gratuity money for my time in service was £56.00 for the three and half years' active service I had put in. That sum soon evaporated so I decided upon the building trade, endeavouring to follow in the footsteps of Richard Curle, the pilot friend of mine who had been a Clerk of Works for the Ministry of Works. I decided a trade was required and applied for a six-month joinery course at Wallsend Training Centre. Being successful and completing the course in the spring of 1947.
My fellow apprentices were virtually all ex-service men, but were not overly welcomed or appreciated by the existing tradesmen who called them dilutees. There was a great deal of animosity. Those who chose the contents of the course had very little idea of what was necessary so we were dropped in the deep end after six months with a piece of paper stating we were a carpenter and joiner – a likely story…
It was imperative to join a union, so I attended my local branch – a very red branch that was akin to joining the Klu Klux Klan. Everything was very secretive in a room with a dim 40-watt light bulb from which it was difficult to distinguish features and more of the discussions involved withdrawing labour or causing mayhem. They were always looking for card stewards and I applied and succeeded that helped my standing on the building sites so I did not get any hassle with regards to being a dilutee but it was very tough going at times.
Within a month of returning in 1946 I had started my General Education classes attending four nights per week keeping Friday free if possible. The next year I did five nights per week taking the National and Higher National and endorsements and City & Guilds in various subjects for the next six years at Rutherford College in Newcastle.
The appetite from returning servicemen for all subjects was amazing. Most classes were between 30 and 40 sitting at small desks suitable for grammar school boys, plus others on boxes or anything available. It was rather hilarious in many ways and the lecturers were good and I enjoyed it immensely as everybody was eager to learn. I used to attend on Friday nights in my evening suit. Most thought it very quaint but invariably I would be going to a dance following class. All day Sunday was set aside for homework that was a heavy workload, followed by an evening at the cinema with local friends or female accompaniment.
My first job as a chippy entailed working for Aveling Barford as a maintenance joiner with a very helpful foreman and staff and it was a most satisfying situation that lasted two years and then I had to leave to seek further experience for my future career, so it was onto further building sites chasing the money jobs where possible.
Building work was extremely tough, working through all weathers with a two-hour notice for quitting on both sides. Wage increases in the 40s and 50s ranged in the vast sums of a quarter or half pence per hour so it was essential to work overtime where at all possible, providing one could fit it in which was difficult in my case.
A typical day was 0730 or 0800 start, half-an-hour for lunch, and a finish at 1630, particularly in the winter when it grew dark often at 1600 that caused problems when piecework was involved. Usually I would get home around 1730, dinner would be over by 1800, then a 20 minute nap and a wash and brush up and off to college for either 1900 to 2130 session. Later a couple of swift halves and back home between 2230 and 2300 and bed especially if it had been a very late one the previous night, say 0200 due to courting or other stuff.
During the 40s and 50s, Saturdays were special, generally involving a late Friday night getting in at 0200 or 0300 due to a dance, leaving one with very little sleep as we generally worked 4 or 4½ hours in the morning on Saturdays. After lunch it was off to Low Fell or Kibbleworth tennis clubs for competitive tennis until 1900 then a bath followed by getting dressed up, then drinks and a dance at Oxford Galleries in Newcastle being a regular weekly affair. All-in-all a hectic weekend.
In 1951 I was invited by the Vice Principle of Rutherford College to take up a teaching session on building construction and science that I accepted. I found the first two years particularly difficult in writing, drawing and talking while facing the board and had to arrive one or two hours before the class started to prepare three boards prior to the students arriving. It appeared to work ok as pass marks were satisfactory and as my fee was paid in one lump sum at the quarter end it was very useful indeed for rigging me out and settling my debts.
I think the gratuity money for my time in service was £56.00 for the three and half years' active service I had put in. That sum soon evaporated so I decided upon the building trade, endeavouring to follow in the footsteps of Richard Curle, the pilot friend of mine who had been a Clerk of Works for the Ministry of Works. I decided a trade was required and applied for a six-month joinery course at Wallsend Training Centre. Being successful and completing the course in the spring of 1947.
My fellow apprentices were virtually all ex-service men, but were not overly welcomed or appreciated by the existing tradesmen who called them dilutees. There was a great deal of animosity. Those who chose the contents of the course had very little idea of what was necessary so we were dropped in the deep end after six months with a piece of paper stating we were a carpenter and joiner – a likely story…
It was imperative to join a union, so I attended my local branch – a very red branch that was akin to joining the Klu Klux Klan. Everything was very secretive in a room with a dim 40-watt light bulb from which it was difficult to distinguish features and more of the discussions involved withdrawing labour or causing mayhem. They were always looking for card stewards and I applied and succeeded that helped my standing on the building sites so I did not get any hassle with regards to being a dilutee but it was very tough going at times.
Within a month of returning in 1946 I had started my General Education classes attending four nights per week keeping Friday free if possible. The next year I did five nights per week taking the National and Higher National and endorsements and City & Guilds in various subjects for the next six years at Rutherford College in Newcastle.
The appetite from returning servicemen for all subjects was amazing. Most classes were between 30 and 40 sitting at small desks suitable for grammar school boys, plus others on boxes or anything available. It was rather hilarious in many ways and the lecturers were good and I enjoyed it immensely as everybody was eager to learn. I used to attend on Friday nights in my evening suit. Most thought it very quaint but invariably I would be going to a dance following class. All day Sunday was set aside for homework that was a heavy workload, followed by an evening at the cinema with local friends or female accompaniment.
My first job as a chippy entailed working for Aveling Barford as a maintenance joiner with a very helpful foreman and staff and it was a most satisfying situation that lasted two years and then I had to leave to seek further experience for my future career, so it was onto further building sites chasing the money jobs where possible.
Building work was extremely tough, working through all weathers with a two-hour notice for quitting on both sides. Wage increases in the 40s and 50s ranged in the vast sums of a quarter or half pence per hour so it was essential to work overtime where at all possible, providing one could fit it in which was difficult in my case.
A typical day was 0730 or 0800 start, half-an-hour for lunch, and a finish at 1630, particularly in the winter when it grew dark often at 1600 that caused problems when piecework was involved. Usually I would get home around 1730, dinner would be over by 1800, then a 20 minute nap and a wash and brush up and off to college for either 1900 to 2130 session. Later a couple of swift halves and back home between 2230 and 2300 and bed especially if it had been a very late one the previous night, say 0200 due to courting or other stuff.
During the 40s and 50s, Saturdays were special, generally involving a late Friday night getting in at 0200 or 0300 due to a dance, leaving one with very little sleep as we generally worked 4 or 4½ hours in the morning on Saturdays. After lunch it was off to Low Fell or Kibbleworth tennis clubs for competitive tennis until 1900 then a bath followed by getting dressed up, then drinks and a dance at Oxford Galleries in Newcastle being a regular weekly affair. All-in-all a hectic weekend.
In 1951 I was invited by the Vice Principle of Rutherford College to take up a teaching session on building construction and science that I accepted. I found the first two years particularly difficult in writing, drawing and talking while facing the board and had to arrive one or two hours before the class started to prepare three boards prior to the students arriving. It appeared to work ok as pass marks were satisfactory and as my fee was paid in one lump sum at the quarter end it was very useful indeed for rigging me out and settling my debts.